Burrell under pressure

[millersdad]

I have always told my friend that there are two types of people. Those, that when the pressure heats up, they get stronger and stronger by focusing and concentrating and taking it to the next level. The other kind of people are those who, the greater the pressure, they get overwhelmed, stressed, and lock up and can't perform....like the deer in headlights. A classic example of this is the story of the women who wrecks her car with her baby in it and somehow digs deep and finds that extra human adrenalin to lift up the car off of her baby. Looking at the Xavier players I see both types on this team. Brown, Lavender, Dante, and CJ are the Xavier players that really elevate their game under pressure. They push hard and take it to the next level. Duncan, Love, and Raymond do well under pressure but don't elevate their game the bigger the game. Burrell, on the other hand, for the most part, folds under pressure. Sure, he will hit an occasional free throw at the end of the game when Xavier is ahead in the final minutes. But, when the game is on the line, Burrell cannot hit a shot. This is proven by his shooting stats in the NCAA tournament. In fact, the commentator mentioned that in the last 3 tournament games Burrell has only made one field goal!!!!! His defense is there but offensively he chokes under pressure. My prediction of Xavier's next game against West Virginia follows my analysis of the players. I predict that Brown, CJ, lavender, and Dante will be big contributors…better than they normally would be during a normal game. Duncan and Raymond will do well…just like they have all season. And I predict that Burrell will fold. He will do good defensively but offensively he will not be able to hit a shot and if he does get a shot it will be a lay up. I hope I am wrong because we will need to finally see some offense out of Burrell if we are going to win this next game. Come on Stanley…step it up!

[Progress]

The commentator's statement was not entirely correct. Aside from the Georgia game, Burrell had three made FGs in both the St. Joe's and Purdue games and scored in double digits in both those games. I agree, Stanley is definitely not playing his best ball come tournament time but he's never been mentioned for the most consistent player award (if one existed).

As long as he shuts down key guards on the opposing team I would never say that he's "folding."

[Mr. Neutral]

In our A10 tourney game against Dayton, SB scored 13 points in 38 minutes, including 2-4 from the arc and 5-6 from the line.

In our A10 tourney game against SJU, SB scored 10 points in 32 minutes, including 3-8 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. (The team leader only had 11 pts.)

In the Georgia game, SB only had 3 points (all from the FT line) in 37 minutes, but he added 5 assists and 3 steals, both team highs.

In the Purdue game, SB had 11 points in 37 minutes, including 3-6 from the floor and and 5-8 from the FT line, along with 2 steals. (He did have a team-high 4 turnovers.)

So, other than the Georgia game, Stan's offense hasn't been any worse than it has all season. Would it be nice for him to have a breakout game (15-20 points)? Absolutely. But if Stan continues to give X 10-12 points a game, along with his D, that's enough of a contribution for the team to win.

[millersdad]

Well, the three games i was referring to was last year's ohio state game in the ncaa...which i recall he did horrible but if anyone has his stats to that game please post. The Georgia game which Mr. Neutral agreed he had a bad game and the Purdue game...yes, Stanely did score 11 at Purdue but out of his 3 made baskets 2 i remember were layups maybe all three and the rest of his points came at the foul line at the end of the game.

[kzoox]

he may not be the guy he once was offensively, where he begged for the ball to take the shot -- see GW game @ GW his frosh year when he drained the walk off 3 to win -- but he is the heart of this team, and is a much better PLAYER than he ever has been. Also, last I checked, layups count as 2 points - same as a 17 footer.

He did not play well in LAST YEAR'S tournament, but he has been wonderful all year. I will take his diminished offensive role this year, based on what he brings elsewhere (D, assists, leadership, etc)

[Mr. Neutral]

<<yes, Stanely did score 11 at Purdue but out of his 3 made baskets 2 i remember were layups maybe all three and the rest of his points came at the foul line at the end of the game.>>

I forgot that (1) layups don't count as much as other made baskets, and (2) end-of-game FT's aren't important. Silly me.

In last year's OSU game, Stan did have a bad game from the field (1-7), as did Drew (2-13). Brown and Raymond had 6 pts. total in 27 combined mnutes, so there were several guys that didn't contribute much offensively.

[muskieman]

Go talk to your son, Sean, and ask him if he thinks you are right in your assessment about a pressure guy and Burrell. Listen to announcers and all are talking about how the D was the important part of the game and realize without that D stopper X would not have advanced as far this year or last. Picking apart a player's game is crazy at this time. As G said are you discounting his assists and steals which lead to points.

Stanley has taken a lot of pressure off Drew lately and has played the point at times when Drew was in the ballgame. Stanley in the past when you liked his O was also looser with the ball handling then he is now, sure, there will be TOs but Stan and Drew, on the most part, have both valued the ball and that is important.

I guess next you will tell us how Raymond folds under pressure because he missed a couple threes.

[realxfan]

What the heck is the point of slamming on a guy whose put total team in front of stats. W/O Stan we defintely aren't playing Thursday.

[finalfourorbust]

Well, the three games i was referring to was last year's ohio state game in the ncaa...which i recall he did horrible but if anyone has his stats to that game please post. The Georgia game which Mr. Neutral agreed he had a bad game and the Purdue game...yes, Stanely did score 11 at Purdue but out of his 3 made baskets 2 i remember were layups maybe all three and the rest of his points came at the foul line at the end of the game.

Wouldn't you consider making foul shots at the end of games with the game on the line performing under pressure?

[Mr. Neutral]

<<Wouldn't you consider making foul shots at the end of games with the game on the line performing under pressure?>>

Only if it was JW making the shots. Then it would be an all-world performance. Stan makes shots to help ice a game that sends us to our 3rd Sweet 16 in school history, and they're a non-factor. Go figure.